Cavemen on the AT

[JAK]

You can make a small fire and not leave any more trace than a hobo stove if you do it right. Takes a little longer. Colder weather always requires a little more fuel. When its really cold, like 10degF, its hard to tell good dry wood from wood that is wet but frozen. It's worth bringing a strong knife or small hatchet or folding saw so you can get into some dry wood from larger deadfall and make it into smaller pieces for a smaller fire. Fun stuff, and sustainable, and reasonably LNT depending on the habitat and traffic. Not sure how well it would work on the AT, but I would imagine its do-able especially more off season. Worth carrying some fuel and coals and tinder for the next fire, and if you do that you may as well bring a hobo stove or kelly kettle to carry it in.

[Lone Wolf]

A guy with the trail name of "Roy" always cooked with a small wood fire. Last time I saw or heard of him was when we dropped him off at Spivey Gap a few years ago.

Roy lives 4 houses down from me. he's been here four years

[sbhikes]

A friend of mine thru-hiked the PCT and built a tiny stick fire every night to cook. He said he enjoyed it and really liked how his fire-building skills got really good. His fire was VERY tiny. The sticks he burned were very small. This was not a campfire.

[wornoutboots]

I hiked into Davenport Gap Shelter a few years ago & a Sobo I think name G-Fog (or someone hiking with that small bubble) was only carrying a pot & he was cooking over the open fire. I plan on this from now on during my sections so when I hike into camp just before dark like I normally do & there is a fire going, I'll eat a hot meal or I can always stop earlier & build my own fire if the weathers accomodating, other than that I'll eat cold until the situation arrises.

[Spokes]

I see value in cooking on small wood fires, primarily as a way to save on alchy stove fuel. Still think the fold flat wood stoves are best. Of course, the rollable Caldera Cone Ti-Tri with Inferno insert looks dandy but it's just too darn expensive.

[JAK]

For the record caveman is politically incorrect.
We now prefer the term retrosexual.

[Lugnut]

Roy lives 4 houses down from me. he's been here four years

Guess he has a stove now.

[bamboo bob]

I knew a guy name Screamer in 2000 who always cooked over an open fire. Even on a rainy day he would get the fire going and boil water in a coffee can. He was also a pro dumpster diver in towns.

[TOMP]

For the record caveman is politically incorrect.
We now prefer the term retrosexual.

retro sapien, would be more apt. Retrosexual sounds like vintage porn or the kind of relations that a libertarian would have.

Yeah campfire cooking is just not convenient for a through hiker it takes time and effort. Probably about 30 minutes between collecting the wood, setting up a platform or way to hold the pot over fire and another 10-15 minutes for a boil. Compare this to Canister stoves at 3 minutes and alcohol around 12 minutes. This is just for water boiling for dehydrated meals. And 30 minutes would be a quick time, wood collection alone could take that long.

But, campfire cooking has lasted the test of time and will be here for years to come, long after we all run out of natural resources that fuel our canister stoves.

[JAK]

I was going to go with retrosapien. Better choice.
Retrosexual was meant to be a play on metrosexual, but you're right, it missed the mark. lol

[Sandy of PA]

No fires allowed in New Jersey, could get kind of hungry unless you were no cook for that state!

[hikerboy57]

For the record caveman is politically incorrect.
We now prefer the term retrosexual.

harry reams was a retrosexual, as was linda lovelace.

[TOMP]

No fires allowed in New Jersey, could get kind of hungry unless you were no cook for that state!

Just on the AT, but campsites are fair game although non-ideal for thru-hiking. Also, I think just about every no camping/ no fire sign I have seen has remains of a campfire charcoals under it so I think you would be ok.

[bflorac]

Met "Pat with Bunions" NOBO last year cooking on a fire. And I mean a full campfire. He also kept the fire burning all night, getting up ever three hours to stoke it.

I also met "Forager" in 2010. He did the entire trail mostly on food he caught in the wild. He carried a machete and pellet gun (and not much else). He cooked on a fire as well.

[cabbagehead]

Camp fires are great, but they are illegal in certain areas.

[Bearpaw]

In '99, Dumptruck always built a small fire to cook on. It's been done.

[ScottP]

With all the stove options available to today's hikers&stoveless meal ideas,are there still hikers who rely on a campfire for cooking?

t works well out west where it's dry.

It's a giant hassle on the AT.

[Papa D]

Met "Pat with Bunions" NOBO last year cooking on a fire. And I mean a full campfire. He also kept the fire burning all night, getting up ever three hours to stoke it.

I also met "Forager" in 2010. He did the entire trail mostly on food he caught in the wild. He carried a machete and pellet gun (and not much else). He cooked on a fire as well.

Um - that's "Paul with Bunions" - he's a homeless yellow-blazing beggar - sort of fun to spend the night with if you have a little alcohol and don't mind dodging the smoke from his roll-up cigs - he's the classic hobo - - but he's not the poster boy for someone getting it done with fire - his gear sucks - he carries an iron skillet for crying out loud - there are plenty getting it done right - not PWB

[soilman]

You can make a small fire and not leave any more trace than a hobo stove if you do it right. Takes a little longer. Colder weather always requires a little more fuel. When its really cold, like 10degF, its hard to tell good dry wood from wood that is wet but frozen. It's worth bringing a strong knife or small hatchet or folding saw so you can get into some dry wood from larger deadfall and make it into smaller pieces for a smaller fire. Fun stuff, and sustainable, and reasonably LNT depending on the habitat and traffic. Not sure how well it would work on the AT, but I would imagine its do-able especially more off season. Worth carrying some fuel and coals and tinder for the next fire, and if you do that you may as well bring a hobo stove or kelly kettle to carry it in.

I don't see how one can gather wood and make a fire and still be true to LNT on the AT. Most shelter sites and camp sites have been picked clean of wood. I agree with what some other posters have said about so-called thru hikers and LNT. Many start out hiking without any idea of LNT. Just look at the trash in fire rings and in shelters.

[HT1]

I don't see how one can gather wood and make a fire and still be true to LNT on the AT. Most shelter sites and camp sites have been picked clean of wood. I agree with what some other posters have said about so-called thru hikers and LNT. Many start out hiking without any idea of LNT. Just look at the trash in fire rings and in shelters.

you start collecting wood before you intend to stop, 15 minutes to an hour, you wont need much to boil water, a plastic grocery bag would be pleanty, this way you can get the best stuff, dead branches still on a tree, or standing upward from a down tree, since you spread it out over a large area, you are a minimal impact